CSS Pakistan

This page offers you a brief introduction to occupational groups of Central Superior Services of Pakistan. In case you find any discrepancies, please fell free to point out.

Police Services of Pakistan (PSP):

The Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) is comprised of police officers selected through the Federal Public Service Commission Entry is at the level of Assistant Superintendent
of Police.

Under the old Police Act, the Police had many responsibilities. But with the enforcement of Police Order 2002, it has been given a leadership role alongwith lot more responsibilities and accountabilities. Every new posting is a challenge it is a never ending war against crime, social evils and every day problems of the people residing in a particular area. The local representatives, i-e. Town Nazims, U C Nazims and Councilors at the grassroot level, are the eyes and ears of the Police. They give the information and guidance to serve the people in a better way. Their assistance and coordination are essentially important for the success of an area Police.

With the separation of Investigation and Prosecution, alongwith accountability through the local representatives, the Police is heading towards specialization and professionalism. It has time and energy to do its assigned task, be a part of the community and respond to the needs of the people. The Annual Policing Plan which sets the targets is required to be approved by the local representatives. Responsibility and accountability are, therefore, integrated in this check and balance system. It also signifies that the era of rulers and the ruled as over.

The Local Government system, alongwith Police Order 2002, has given the Police pride and respect. Instead of an instrument of the State power, the Police is now merged with the community to bring peace and prosperity to the nation as a whole. And the local population has responded very positively to this system. Their cooperation with the Police is encouraging. Their assistance in the construction of Police stations, hospitals, clinics, schools, industrial homes etc for the welfare of the Police and the public, and the initiative to establish Medical Camps through voluntary donations of medicines, food items and medical services in disease and flood-affected areas under the umbrella of the Police, are manifestations of some of the local population s support and assistance PSP is a complete way of life dedicated to the people.

District Management Group (DMG):

Having its roots in the former Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP), the District Management Group (DMG) despite the recent historic restructuring of power and authority in Pakistan, continues to maintain its niche of being a central and one of the most coveted Administrative service groups of the Civil Service of Pakistan albeit with a slightly changed scope and mandate. The DMG basically draws its vigor from its singular service structure having forward and backward linkages Its unique service organization, on one hand attracts the top achievers in the civil services examination to this Group, and subsequently this structure having enormous horizontal and vertical mobility chances enables the selected officers to occupy critical and leading administrative positions from the very beginning of their careers. It is again these vast horizontal mobility opportunities, which facilitate most challenging openings to the DMG officers. They usually begin careers as administrative officers of Government at sub-division level responsible for a combination of judicial, executive & administrative functions. While this career opening has changed after the separation of judiciary from executive and devolution however, the DMG officers continue to occupy core administrative assignments in sub-divisions, districts or provincial governments. At the same time the DMG officers continue to have opportunities of serving in either of the three Government levels, their secretariats, in the field or in the semi-autonomous or autonomous bodies. It is this mobility (which continues through out the service progression), which facilities the growth and grooming of the DMG officers in myriad, multiple and crosscutting fields. This career path peculiar to the DMG officers eventually facilitates their entry into the top policy making officers of the country.

With the restructuring of the political & administrative authority after devolution the service structure of DMG was initially seen to be adversely impacted after the abolition of the all-powerful positions of the Assistant Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and the Commissioners and the abolition of the executive magistracy’s office. Conversely the post devolution scenario has shown that the role and the scope of the administrative cadres especially the DMG officers occupying leadership positions as District Coordinating Officers has increased manifolds. It would not be out of place to mention that in the short moment of uncertainly at the dawn of devolution, the President of Pakistan himself assured the DMG officers about their rote in the affairs of the country saying that he expects the DMG officers to be the standard bearers of devolution. In his letter addressed to each DMG officer he categorically stated that he visualizes the future role of DMG in civil society as of a public service, motivated by the highest ideals of dedication, capability and responsiveness to public needs.

Foreign Services of Pakistan (FSP):

Foreign Service of Pakistan was constituted on an ad hoc basis immediately on the birth of Pakistan. The Service was first given an executive fiat in a decision of the Federal Cabinet in July, 1948. A formal resolution constituting the service was announced in October 1952. It envisaged diplomatic posts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the Diplomatic and consular missions of Pakistan abroad. The resolution provided for the posts of (a) Secretary (1), (b) Joint Secretaries (2), (c) Deputy Secretaries (8), and (d) Under Secretaries (16) Posts for Pakistan Diplomatic Missions abroad provided for Ambassadors (17), High Commissioners (5), Ministers (4), Commissioners (1), Deputy High Commissioners (2), Counselors (15), First Secretaries (10), Second Secretaries (19), Third Secretaries (31), Consul General (3), Consul (4), and Vice Consul (7).

Between 1952 and 1960, the cadre strength was constantly kept under review and was enlarged by executive orders in view of the expanding requirements. However, shortage of personnel continued to plague the service. The total strength of the officers gradually increased both at the Headquarters and the Missions. In 1972 the total strength of the officers at the Headquarters and the Missions grew to 323. At present there are 403 officers both at the Headquarters and in our Missions.

The entry into the former Foreign Service of Pakistan through examination began in 1948. The Recruitment to the Officers cadre (Foreign Service of Pakistan) is through the competitive examination conducted annually by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC). The Establishment Division in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces annually the number of vacancies of officers in the Foreign Affairs Group, which vary from year to year. Officers of the Foreign Service of Pakistan undergo common training at the Civil Services Academy, Lahore and later are given six months specialized training at the Foreign Service Academy, Islamabad. The officers also undergo language training which includes Arabic, French, German, Chinese, Spanish etc. The training facilities at the National Institute of Modern Languages are availed to train the officers. Fully funded Language scholarships offered by other countries are also availed. The Ministry thus has a rich reservoir of officers who are well versed in different languages.

The Administrative Reforms introduced in 1973 provided for a unified structure of service with distinct specialized groups.

Customs group:

The Customs Group consists of three different categories of duties and taxes, namely, (1) Customs Duty, (2) Central Excise Duty, and (3) Sales Tax.

Customs service is divided into three major areas of trade activities viz (a) Imports, (b) Exports, and (c) Anti-Smuggling (Preventive) imports is the backbone of customs service which involves payment of customs duty on all the imports into the country. Exports are related with foreign exchange earnings and implementation of Exports Policy. Preventive department deals with anti-smuggling activities focusing mainly on prevention of drug smuggling.

Central Excise service is shrinking day by day. It is now an outdated mode of revenue collection Central Excise Duty is leviable on a few items. With the passage of time it is likely to be diminished.

Sales Tax is the tax of future. It is based upon VAT (Value Added Tax) mode of taxation system. It has been successfully implemented all over the world. Presently, the Sales Tax wing is collecting the largest share of revenue collected by CBR (Central Board of Revenue). It is a growing and expanding service The Sales Tax Act was passed in 1990.

All these three services are under the process of TAX REFORMS. A new vision of revenue collection and reforms has transformed the Customs, Excise and Sales Tax group into a service of the future. By introduction of LARGE TAX PAYERS UNIT and MODEL SALES TAX HOUSE, the Customs, Excise and Sales Tax group has become an agent of change. It is now the most modern, high-tech and forward looking service of the country.

Accounts group:

Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service operates under the constitution 1973, article 144 to 176, and is presently being run through Presidential Order No 23/2001.

The functions and powers of Auditor General Pakistan have been defined in the above mentioned order. The Auditor General enjoys a tenure posting of five years under the constitution. He is responsible to maintain accounts of the public sector organizations and is responsible to conduct audit of the same.

Recently the accounting functions of the Auditor General have been assigned to the Controller General of Accounts. The Controller General functions under the Auditor General of Pakistan. The Auditor General of Pakistan presents the annual accounts of the Ministries and Departments to the Federal and Provincial Public Accounts Committees respectively. The Accounting Offices of the Controller General of Accounts have been mainly divided into three major wings i.e. Civil (Federal / Provincial Governments), Railways and Military Accounts. These three wings are audited by independent offices headed by Directors General at the Federal and Provincial Level. The Audit of Military and Railway Wings is conducted at the Federal Level by the Audit Offices operating at the National Level. The Audit Reports are presented to the Federal Public Accounts Committee by the Auditor General and at the Provincial Level by respective Directors General.

Commerce and Trade group:

Consequent upon the introduction of Administrative Reforms of 1973 aiming to create Civil Services of specialized nature and responsibility, the Trade Service of Pakistan (TSP) was changed into Commerce & Trade Group to administer Export Promotion Bureau, Office of the Chief Controller of Imports & Exports, National Tariff Commission, Trade Marks Registry and Department of Insurance. The posts of Commercial Secretary/Counsellor in Pakistani missions abroad have been kept open to all services, due to the fact that the Office Memorandum under which the Commerce & Trade Group was created did not mention these posts.

Presently 50% posts in foreign missions are encadered in Commerce & Trade Group Departments like Tariff Commission, Office of the Chief Controller of Imports & Exports, Department of Insurance etc. are either working as autonomous bodies or declared as defunct organizations. Export Promotion Bureau has also been decided to be dismembered with the creation of autonomous body dealing with the marketing side. All this has squeezed the group into a smaller entity. As a result, there is no prospect for career planning for the young officers. The people at the helm of affairs may have to find new avenues for providing better career management through encaderment of 100% posts of Commercial Secretary/Counsellor in the foreign missions, encaderment of posts in different departments of the Ministries like Industries and Finance and in Provincial departments dealing with trade and commerce, and through promotional quota in Secretariat Group.

Income Tax group:

Income Tax Department is the wing of the Revenue Division (CBR) dealing with the collection of direct taxes, i.e. Income Tax and Wealth Tax. Very few people know about the specialized nature of the income tax work and the dedication and the hard work it demands. In recent times, there has been a lot of attention on the financial services in the structure of civil bureaucracy. Revenue collection is, by its very nature, an important job and with the ever diminishing foreign aid, the importance of tax collection is now being appreciated by everyone.

Income Tax Department is in the throes of change these days. The business processes, procedures and hierarchy is being remodeled to change the Department to a tax friendly, responsive and efficient organization. This restructuring also involves the reengineering of recruitment process, there is also focus on the implementation of information technology.

The Central Board of Revenue is probably the first government department to have a full-fledged Human Resource Wing with a senior person, of the level of member, heading it. There is considerable focus on evaluating the in vogue business procedures, infact, the present restructuring is aimed at a complete re-engineering of the business process of revenue collection. In a few years time, this Department will have evolved into an efficient tax friendly organization with a lean but highly trained and motivated workforce.

As a part of this strategy, model tax offices have been created at Karachi and Lahore for one or two classes of taxpayers. Further reforms will take into account, the experience gained during the operation of these pilot projects etc. As can be inferred from the focus and emphasis on the restructuring of the Income Tax and Sales Tax Departments, the Government is committed to bring about a positive change in the way the taxpayer and the tax collector interact and perceive each other.

Already there are indications that the Income Tax Group has moved up to number 2 or 3 in the priority list of the candidates aspiring to enter the prestigious civil service of Pakistan.

Information group:

Like other Occupational Groups of the Central Superior Services (CSS), the Information Group plays a vital role in national image building within and abroad. After the completion of Common Training Programme at the Civil Services Academy, Lahore, the probationers join Information Services Academy in Islamabad with a view to acquiring specialized training in media management and public relations. On completion of specialized training, these officers are posted in (1) Press Information Department (PID) (2) External Publicity Wing (EP Wing) (3) Internal Publicity Wing (4) ABC (5) Directorate of Films and Publications (DFP), (6) Cyber Wing etc in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

The Information Group officers posted in Press Information Department (PID) constantly work for the image building of federal ministries and their attached departments. These officers act as a bridge between the government and the media The Press Information Department is a very important department of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. This department is headed by Grade 21 Information Group officer PID headquarter is situated in Islamabad with its regional offices in Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad and Hyderabad. The External Publicity Wing (EP Wing) is the attached department of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting headed by a Grade 21 officer of Information Group. EP Wing keeps constant liaison with Pakistani missions/embassies abroad. It also facilitates the visiting foreign journalists The Directorate of Films and Publications prepares documentaries and publications on the culture and civilization of different provinces of Pakistan It also brings out documentaries and special editions on important national occasions.

The Information Group officers are poised to serve in the power corridor They are usually posted as PRO, Press Secretary, Media Manager to Federal Ministers (Ministries) etc The senior officers participate in decision making at the highest level Officers of Grade 18 and above are posted as Press Attaché, Press Counselor and Press Minister at Pakistani missions/embassies abroad These officers project the image of Pakistan and counter the anti Pakistan propaganda The Information Group officers are also posted in corporations and other federal government departments on deputation.

Railways group:

Pakistan Railways forms the life line of the country catering to all its needs for the large scale movement of freight as well as passenger traffic thereby contributing to economic growth and national integration.

Pakistan Railways is a multi-cadre/multi branch organization and can be dubbed as a mini-govt. For running a huge organization like that of Railways, various branches are serving to run the business smoothly. The Railways Commercial & Transportation (C&T) group plays the most important role as such it is the only cadre in Railways, inducted through CSS and is a part of Civil Services Academy Alumni C&T group is also called as operating and management department as it is solely responsible for the promotion of commercial business (freight & passenger) and for overall safety concerning train movement and operations.

Before 1971 Railways was a provincial subject as East and West Pakistan were under one unit system, and prior to 1973, this service was called the Pakistan Railway Service (PRS). Its officers were inducted through competitive examination. The probationary officers were trained at PR Walton Training School, Lahore directly. After 1973, like all other occupational groups, Railways C&T officers inducted through CSS, started its journey along with other occupational groups as commoners. The first Railways commoner was Mr Nasir Zaidi, whereas in 30th CTP almost 15 probationers started their career as probationary officers at CSA Lahore. Railway administration runs the department at three levels i.e. Ministerial level, Headquarter level and at Divisional levels (six divisions). Important policy and strategic matters are sought after at First level, whereas, operational and administrative policies are formulated at Headquarter level by GM Railways and COPS (Chief Operating Superintendent), and train operations and commercial affairs at divisions are carried out at divisional offices under the co-ordination of DS (Divisional Superintendent).

Despite various shortcomings and problems, officers of C&T group are striving for bringing the best in Railways and ultimately in Pakistan and are proud to be a part of Railways family of commoners.

Postal Group:

The Postal Group mainly comprises the Pakistan Post Office which is one of the oldest departments of the Sub-Continent working under Pakistan Post Office Act, 1898. It is one of the largest public sector organizations with over 13,000 post offices dedicated to providing high quality postal and financial services at minimum possible cost. Besides, it also performs a number of important functions on behalf of other Federal and Provincial Government Departments / Institutions which, inter-alia include (1) Post Office Savings Bank, (2) Postal Life Insurance, (3) Civil & Military Pension Payments, (4) Collection of Utility Bills, (5) Renewal of Driving and Arms Licences, (6) Issuing P 1 V Licence etc. Organizational procedure and processes of the Post Office have been mastered through time and experience, and are ingrained In the organizational spirit and ethos.

Direct induction in the Gazetted ranks was a rare practice in Post Office Department. But as a result of reforms introduced in Civil Services structure by the then Prime Minister in the year 1972, the Postal Group was formed and young officers started joining the group regularly every year since 1973.

Until 1985, promotion in the Postal Group was also very rapid. But now a newly inducted officer in B-17 has to wait for about 10 to 12 years for his promotion in BPS-18. Yet the group has an edge over certain other services groups, such as posting in big cities, suitable medical, transport and accommodation facilities for its officers, and deputation to various training courses within and outside the country. The Postal Group is relatively a smaller group. Its present strength is only 183 officers.

The Pakistan Post Office is purely a public services department rendering diverse postal services to the customers with the sole mission of Khidmat, Dianat & Amanat. The dawn of the new millennium has introduced a great development in the postal area across the world, and the Pakistan Post Office today is playing a positive role in conveying and disseminating information and ideas relating to the whole range of human activities in political, social, economic, cultural, industrial and commercial sectors.

Military Lands and Cantonment group:

The Military Lands & Cantonment Department is headed by the Director General, Military Lands & Cantonments. He is followed in hierarchy by an Additional Director General, assisted by five Regional Directors (i.e. Karachi, Quetta, Lahore Rawalpindi & Peshawar). They in turn are followed by Cantonment Executive Officers and Military Estates Officers.

The domain of the executive officers extends to cantonments in which they perform municipal and quasi-judicial functions. The executive officers have to generate the funds by levying different taxes/charges.

Each cantonment board is headed by a President Cantonment Board who is a serving armed forces officer and the cantonment executive officer is the Secretary of the Board.

Courtesy csspk.com